Assorted liquids and solids have been stored, transported and served from pitchers of various construction for literally thousands of years. Three main concerns have remained in their designs namely 1) the volume of the pitcher, 2) protection given by the pitcher to the product being retained for transfer, and 3) the means of delivery of the liquid contained within the pitcher. Over the centuries the size and shape of pitchers have changed in an attempt to meet these three concerns.
Today, pitchers are commonly used to dispense beverages with ice such as ice water and ice tea. However, a difficult challenge has been finding a means by which to control the transfer of the liquid from the pitcher to another container such as a glass while guarding against spillage and preventing unwanted dispensement of the solids which for brevity are hereinafter referred only to as ice cubes.
When liquids and ice cubes are combined, their transfer from a pitcher to another container becomes more difficult. For instance, service pitchers now prevalent in the art cause splashing of the liquid during the process of pouring, especially when the contents are a liquid combined with ice cubes, due to inefficient spout and spill guard design. In order to control and direct the pour with a conventional pitcher, the fluid exit point or spout is made narrow. The size of the spout is usually smaller than that of the ice cubes afloat in the liquid. When pouring from these pitchers the dispensed liquid originates from near the top surface of the pitcher which causes the floating ice cubes to be entrained into the dispensing stream of liquid. The ice cubes often block the spout causing the slowing or completely blocking off of the flow of liquid which results in spillage. This blockage takes place all to frequently in currently used service pitchers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,224 addresses this problem by teaching the combination of pouring lobes and spill guards as a means of controlling the flow of liquid and ice cubes. A principal feature of this pitcher is its spill guard which extends from the upper rim of the pitcher toward its center. This pitcher however still has the disadvantage of the ice cubes blocking the spout, thus causing spillage.
The need for controlled and non-disruptive transfer of liquid-solid combinations remains today a major concern of the hospitality industry, institutions, commercial kitchens, restaurants, and of the domestic sector. Inefficient spout and spill guard designs still do not prevent spillage in the majority, if not all, of service pitchers available in today's market.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a pitcher from which a combination of liquids and ice cubes may be poured in a more effective and controlled manner. Accordingly, it is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.